It has become commonplace to use computers to search large collections of content. For example, a user may enter search terms at a search client, submit the search terms to a search service and, in return, receive a set of search results with varying degrees of relevance to the search terms. It is common for users to enter search terms as freeform strings of characters. This can be problematic for various reasons including the use of different terms to describe the same content, unfamiliarity with descriptive terms for content of interest, unfamiliarity with search terms used to index a particular content collection of interest, unfamiliarity with subject matter concentrations in a particular content collection, as well as misspelling, mistyping and the like.
Some search facilities have begun providing search suggestions. For example, as a freeform string of characters is entered at the search client, the search client may display a list of popular search terms that begin with the characters entered so far. However, conventional search suggestions can also be problematic. For example, the user may not understand the connection between the intended search and the search suggestions being provided. Some of the terms in the search suggestions may be unfamiliar. The search suggestions may change rapidly as the user enters additional characters or, for example, deletes mistyped characters, causing confusion. Some search suggestions may be inappropriate for viewing by the user, for example, inappropriate with respect to the user's age and/or sensibilities.
In addition, although modern content collections may have many different contributors and/or be sourced from many different providers, conventional search suggestions are typically made by the search facility. Peculiarities of the search suggestion determination process may emphasize some content, contributors and/or providers to the detriment of others. Furthermore, conventional search suggestion determination processes may be inflexible and/or inefficient with respect to changing user tastes and/or interests.
Same numbers are used throughout the disclosure and figures to reference like components and features, but such repetition of number is for purposes of simplicity of explanation and understanding, and should not be viewed as a limitation on the various embodiments.